Home brewing the toast of Beltway

Craft beer and home brewing have been a trend in Washington, and even President Barack Obama has raised a stein.

Sam Kass, White House senior policy adviser for healthy food initiatives, told the Obama Foodorama blog in December that White House chefs, who began home brewing in March 2011, were still at it, with three kinds to date: White House Honey Ale, White House Honey Blonde Ale and White House Honey Porter.

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In February, the president touted the White House home-brew at a fundraiser in Corona del Mar, Calif., saying, “We’ve got honey beer in the White House,” and noting that the beehive that supplies the honey is on White House grounds.

And Obama for America has been selling O’Bama pint glasses as a fundraiser — two for $25 — perhaps to try to woo members of the group Homebrewers for Obama, which backed his campaign in 2008.

Members of the House and Senate also have had beer on the brain.

The Senate Small Brewers Caucus, co-chaired by Sens. Max Baucus and Mike Crapo, met for the first time last month over beers from Big Sky Brewing in Montana. “This caucus,” Crapo said, “will provide senators with a better understanding of all aspects of small brewing and the positive impact it has on their communities.”

Baucus has included small breweries in his Montana Jobs Economic Engine Initiative, noting that “Montana has the second-highest number of small breweries per capita in the nation.”

Even the debate over postal reform has a hint of hops.

Sen. Susan Collins took to the Senate floor last week to tout the 21st Century Postal Service Act, co-sponsored with Sens. Joe Lieberman, Tom Carper and Scott Brown. The bill would allow the Postal Service to ship wine and beer in order to help increase revenue.

It’s certainly a growing market. An infographic posted to the Brewers Association blog Monday shows that “craft [brew] surpassed 5 percent volume share” in 2011 “for the first time and continues to gain at a point when large brewer volumes are in decline.” But for craft breweries, which are typically independently run, the cost of shipping beer has become a greater concern.

In a nod to small breweries, Collins added, “There are … customers who simply can’t adjust their business model and could be forced out of business, taking the jobs they support with them.”

According to The New York Times, Pete Johnson, programs manager for the Brewers Association, said shipping beer through the mail would lower costs for wholesalers who are currently forced to use private shippers to send their products.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, a home brewer and craft beer enthusiast who chairs the House Small Brewers Caucus, has also introduced legislation that would allow the Postal Service to ship beer.

The Oregon Democrat “has a real passion for the breweries, the brewers and the beer, and he truly understands the unique issues of our industry,” said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association.

But DeFazio isn’t all work and no play. He still manages to have fun with his hobby: He’s a judge for The Washington Post’s Beer Madness, a “March Madness-like” beer tasting that’s in its second round this week. Last week, the congressman initially selected Bell’s Lager before settling on Fordham Helles Lager.